Many consumers like to enhance the scent of their laundry using various products such as scented detergents, scented sheet or liquid fabric softeners, and additives to the wash. Packaging for laundry products must be robust enough to protect the packaging and the contents therein from damage from the time that the product is placed in the package to when the product is used by the consumer in her home. A common approach to packaging is to make every practical effort to isolate the product in the package from the external environment.
Particulate laundry scent additives can be applied to the wash using a dosing cup that is provided with the packaging. The dosing cup can be snapped onto a closure for the container that houses the particulate laundry scent additive. For instance, the container can be a generally cylindrically shaped bottle having an open end, the bottle being sized and dimensioned to be conveniently gripped by the user as she pours the particulate laundry scent additive from the container. A closure, such as a common screw in cap, can be threadably engaged with the open end of the bottle to prevent the contents of the container from spilling out. A dosing cup can be peripherally snapped to the closure so as to be in a convenient location when the consumer uses the product.
There are at least three problems associated with such a packaging design. First, the dosing cup may become separated from the threaded closure during shipping or while being displayed on a shelf in a retail environment or while stored in the consumer's home. These two packaging components might become separated as a result of the package being dropped during handling or by a person intentionally removing the dosing cup from the closure. If a consumer arrives at the shelf from which she selects the product and does not recognize that the dosing cup is missing from the package, she may purchase an incomplete product and may not be able to fully enjoy the benefits from using the product. Another result of a missing dosing cup might be that the retailer may choose to pull the product from the shelf because of the inability of the retailer to sell the product, which is a financial loss to the retailer or a party further up the supply chain for the product.
A second problem with the packaging design outlined above is that the consumer might be tempted to open up the closure to smell the product to make sure the scent is desirable to her. Such behavior can result in product being spilled or otherwise exposed to the environment.
A third problem with the packaging design outlined above is that the consumer may be required to handle three separate elements when she dispenses the product, the container, the closure, and the dosing cup, with only two hands, which can be inconvenient.
In view of these problems, there is a continuing unaddressed need for packaging for a laundry scent additive that includes a container, a closure, and a dosing cup that is robust enough to endure rough handling without the dosing cup becoming separated from the closure yet provides the consumer with an opportunity to experience the scent of the product at shelf without opening the packaging and can be conveniently delivered to the laundry with only two hands.